Inquiry into Wage Theft

From a media statement by the Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety:

The Hon Bill Johnston MLA, Minister for Industrial Relations, has announced an Inquiry into the systematic and deliberate underpayment of wages or entitlements of workers in Western Australia. View the Minister’s media statement.

The Inquiry is being undertaken by Mr Tony Beech, former Chief Commissioner of the Western Australian Industrial Relations Commission.

The Inquiry is seeking submissions from workers, unions, employers and employer organisations and community organisations in Western Australia. The matters the Inquiry will consider include:

whether there is evidence of wage theft occurring in Western Australia;

the reasons wage theft is occurring, including whether it has become the business model for some organisations;

the impact of wage theft on workers, the businesses that are compliant with employment laws, and the Western Australian community and economy;

whether the current State and federal regulatory framework for dealing with wage theft is effective in combating wage theft and supporting affected workers; and

whether new laws should be introduced in Western Australia to address wage theft, and if so, whether wage theft should be a criminal offence.

Submissions from individual workers will be considered as confidential. Submissions from community groups and stakeholders will be published on the Inquiry website unless confidentiality is requested when the submission is made.